#yorks bio dad of course

[doctorwhoisadhd]

oh my GOD i am thnking about jack harkness / fenry marlow parallels again..... jack harkness as the longest serving torchwood member, fenry marlow as the first friday. jack only much later becoming the captain of the team and fenry only starting to play for the fridays way later. fenry being a time traveler of sorts. the way nobody's ever able to tell if either of them are lying about the stuff theyve done... owen saying "You know, none of us know whether to take you seriously when you say those things" when jack mentions he dated proust.... jacob winner and juice collins' debate over whether fenry is lying or not, with jacob winner always believing him and juice collins never believing him.... the torchwood team's conversation about jack in day one.... fenry's dog, homer, being a poi dog and jack's habit of using outdated clothes and stuff...... jack having people from the past pop up- how must fenry have felt when the only replicas the fridays ever had were prehistory players? and of course, jack with the doctor and fenry with thomas england... always waiting for someone who may never come back.

[alex-perry]

name: alexander “alex” perry (no relation to katy perry)

age: 32

birthday: january 22

zodiac: aqua sun, libra moon, virgo rising

place of birth: minneapolis, minnesota

occupation: architect 

neighborhood: asbury bay

mbti: infp

pinterest

this is alex and he is the most beige human you could ever imagine.

he is THAT guy who considers “meal prepping” an extreme sport.

bio:

he’s from minnesota, which is like just a giant icy wasteland filled with nice, boring people who think a wild night is a trip to ikea (maybe that's what shaped his taste in interior design but we will get into that soon). his father frank is a civil engineer. his mother susan is an english teacher. he has a younger sister named amelia, who recently graduated from college. his parents' whole philosophy is hard work and practicality, which is just code for “let’s suck all the fun out of life.”

alex's dad richard was raised uber christian in small-town in lexington nebraska, but everything changed when he went to college. cue the culture shock: he met new people, encountered different ideas, and quickly realized the world wasn’t quite like the way he was told in his little church. he met susan, a free-spirited liberal who basically turned his worldview upside down. when they decided to get married, as you can guess, richard's family did not take that well and all hell broke loose. his family basically went all 'THIS IS THE FUTURE THE LIBERALS WANT!!!' route ofc.

because of this divine union, his dad has been banished from the good ol' conservative family circle. they probably think he’s gone to the dark side. he only keeps in touch with one of his cousins. (the one happens to be the father of alex's quirky cousin andrew. and andrew is a chaotic entrepreneur, who lives in silicon valley).

he is also cousins with miss dakota @dakota-perry

so it's safe to say they don't spend much time with his father's siblings. the Perry fam only visits them during holidays.....

little alex was the type who actually did his homework on time and actually got excited about things like mowing the lawn. so it wasn't a surprise when he graduated top of his class and got a scholarship to mit. he studied architecture because.... well, bc he had no other hobbies. and i guess alex wanting to become an architect ever since he was a middle schooler played a role in that decision too.....

he aced his courses, probably wearing one of those dreadful beige cardigans, and designed buildings that weren’t about to fall anytime soon. in MIT he was the one who did all the work in a group project while everyone else was off having a good time. not because he was a control freak, it's bc he actually loved architecture. nothing got his blood pumping like a well-drafted blueprint. and as you can guess, he wasn't exactly fending off crowds of admirers with his passion for structural integrity lsfkslafkalsf

alex in a group project:

after mit, he moved to new york cityyyyyyyyyyy (pls read that with laszlo's voice). he got a job at an architecture firm called thompson & rivera architects, a mid-sized firm with just the right amount of prestige without the snobbery. he had a little apartment in hell's kitchen. his place looked like someone took an ikea catalog, sucked out all the personality, and called it home. minimalist to the point of tragedy, with a potted plant that only survived because it couldn’t be bothered to die.

alex didn’t just wake up and decide to move to asbury for the fun of it(that would be far too spontaneous for the practical prince). his design firm, landed a new project: a modern, trendy boutique hotel in town. he was picked as one of the junior architects to join the senior architects in overseeing the project. he’s not the lead designer OBVIOUSLY, but he's definitely in the inner circle, making sure everything’s structurally correct.

personality:

alex is awfully practical, grounded, and a bit of a perfectionist. and he justifies this by saying "i’m not being picky, i’m being precise". alex's idea of a VERY WILD night would be marie kondo-ing his collection of architectural books and magazines. despite his boring demeanor, he actually has a sense of humor and SURPRISINGLY he can take a joke. to mingle with the local folks, he joined the local bowling team. tbh he’s not the most outgoing person, but he values deep, meaningful relationships over casual friendships. once he is your friend, that means it's going to last forever.

outside of work alex enjoys cycling. (actually a little bit too much, he is cycling around as if he is training for tour de france). and then there’s his cooking obsession. during quarantine, he got into cooking and suddenly became that person who binged every jamie oliver video in existence. next thing you know, he be baking his own sourdough.

well, he has 'mild' ocd. and when I say mild, that's actually an understatement. he is very particular when it comes to organizing his workspace—everything has its place, and he gets mildly irritated if someone moves his things. he’s known to be a bit of a coffee snob, always in search of the perfect cup, and can be annoyingly particular about his brew (as someone who does not know shit about the coffee, I wonder how am i gonna write about this little quirk but we shall see).

OH OH OH ALSO HE IS A HUGE FAN OF THE KILLERS

connection ideas

cycling buddy: soo this dumbass is in a cycling group called "the pedal -pushers," (so original, i know). the group is full of people who take their biking way too seriously. their conversations are not the most entertaining to be honest, such as the best tire pressure or which helmet brand is the best. alex usually shows up in full cycling gear, complete with a helmet with green reflective stripes. that was his way of celebrating the brat summer.

barista (friend or nemesis depending how much they can tolerate alex): a local barista and fellow coffee enthusiast who shares his love for a perfect cup of coffee. orrr simply hating him because he always finds some fault in his coffee.

bowling team / squad: he also recently joined a bowling team. i'd love to discuss the team name and its details, so feel free to hmuuuuu

[dylxwestwick]

BASICS

Full Name: Dylan Marie Westwick

Nickname(s): Dyl, Dyl Pickle

Age: 34 (February 13, 1990)

Occupation: Art Curator at Chambers Museum

Gender: Cis-female

Pronouns: She/her

Sexuality: Pansexual

Relationship Status: Partners with Theo Bailey

Family: William ‘Bill’ Westwick (Father, deceased) ; Ida Westwick (Mother) ; Hattie (Younger Sister); June (Younger Sister); Leda Delphine and Lysander Samwise Westwick-Bailey (Twin son and daughter courtesy of: Theo Bailey)

Hometown: Valdosta, GA

Neighborhood: Laurel Village

Pets: Nana Darling Westwick-Bailey (St. Bernard)

PERSONALITY:

LIKES: art, books, coffee, animals, nature, oldies music (soft spot for Johnny Cash), travel

DISLIKES: lazy people, elitism, mansplainers

POSITIVE TRAITS: hardworking, empathetic, intelligent, open-minded

NEGATIVE TRAITS: workaholic, low self esteem, stubborn, slow to trust

FULL BIO (tw: death, pregnancy mention)

Dylan was taught from an early age never to live beyond her means. Growing up in a rural home in Valdosta, Georgia; she was raised on a farm and rose with the sun and learned not to stop working until the sun stopped working. Her dad instilled his hard working attitude on his daughter from an early age, and Dylan’s mom tried her best to challenge her daughter to do something with herself. They both saw that there was a lot of creative potential in her and didn’t quite know how to deal with that. Not having a lot of resources, their daughter often made due with what she was given. Simple tasks were made fun with just the use of imagination. She got joy from naming the chickens after the famous artists that she found books on in the library, and learned that maybe this could be a life she could settle into. That was until she turned 17. She knew that the idea of college meant expenses beyond what her parents could possibly afford. Although they tried to hide the fact from Dylan, it wasn’t hard for her to see. When she spoke to the school guidance counselor, they gave her pamphlets on trade schools. Up until then, Dylan figured she would be working on the farm when she graduated, the Westwicks didn’t have a son and as the eldest, she saw it as her responsibility. She shared this sentiment with her parents and her mother started to cry, which of course shocked the teenager. Mrs. Westwick begged Dylan to take a look at colleges, apply for scholarships, “Be the someone you were born to be.” Was something that rang through her mind.

After looking into all her options and passions, she realized what she loved more than anything in the world was art. Dylan didn’t quite think that she could emulate any type of art through media, but what she felt a passion for was putting art together. She had an eye and so she applied for schools in Georgia and went to the University of Georgia for an Art History degree. When she got there, she felt like a small fish in a big pond. People told her that this was nothing compared to other cities in the United States, but to Dylan this was her first time leaving the small town and she was awestruck. As she moved through college, she learned so much more about herself. The desire to learn about art helped her learn even more about the world, which in turn took her to travel around the world. She took her first flight at the age of 19. Things were looking up for her as she continued to travel. Visiting art museums she had only dreamt of when she was a kid. Seeing the great works of art by painters that her chickens were named after. It was hard to swallow the extravagant lifestyle she was entering into, where art could equal opulence, where people paid fortunes for art. Dylan felt detached from her old life, but could not quite figure out if she belonged in the world she was entering into. Upon graduation, she was offered an internship as an art historian at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It was a dream come true. Living in New York City from living where in the summertime you can hear the honks of taxis at night was far different than living on her childhood farm where you could hear the cicadas and crickets singing at night. She loved what she was doing though and as she gained friends and continued to make the city her new home, she learned to love everything about it. Once the internship was over, she already had a job secured. And she made her way through the ranks, and by the time she was 30, she was an assistant art curator. It wasn’t without hard work and hours though, and the problem that she found in the city was, she didn’t have the type of connections or money that her colleagues had. She never would. And no matter how hard she worked, that didn’t matter. Dylan also started to realize that time was moving faster, no relationship, no kids, she was ready to settle. So she began to search. There were no limitations, although it would be nice to be close to her parents, the perfect job listing opened up. Blue Harbor, Illinois. So she took a chance, thinking what harm could there be in applying? When she got the first interview, and then the second interview, and then the in person interview, seeing the town she got that tug in her stomach. This would be a perfect place to settle down.

And it was a great decision, now that she has lived in Blue Harbor for 4 years now. Dylan has found a lot of success in her art curating since moving, though for awhile after her father’s death, she realized she was struggling to find the reason she enjoyed it. But, thankfully with the help of some advice, she turned to her love of music which she’d gotten from her father. It helped her both feel close to her dad and also find her passion once more. The biggest change in her life after that though was in May 2023 when Dylan found out that she was pregnant. Dylan is not in a relationship per the original idea that she’d hoped for when she initially wanted to move to Blue Harbor, but all the same, now 34, she has given birth to two twins. The father being her long-time friend Theo Bailey; even if he had nothing but platonic feelings for her for quite some time things turned into something deeper during her pregnancy journey. Motherhood has brought a new chapter in her life with Leda and Lysander Westwick-Bailey now giving her a new sense of purpose and Theo being the one who shares her life with. As they grow their new home with their young family, Dylan hopes to figure out what it means to have it all.

[flowersandbirdsflyingfree]

Ultimis’ Favorite Things! (What Makes Them Happy)

Tank Dempsey

A big chunk is revealed in his World at War bio. “Hand him a loaded weapon, a good woman, and something it shoot at and he’s happy.” Dempsey appreciates the simpler things in life. Anything that includes ass-kicking and a lovely lady by his side is enough to keep him grounded. A nice, cold beer would be nice as well!

Cats! He's a total softie about them. Tank actually owned several in his lifetime. As a kid, he had a calico cat named Sadie. She had a cat sibling named Mason, who’s fur was black and white. And then there is his orange tabby back home named Rocket. Rocket finds himself into a lot of mischief easily. Having zoomies around the house and stealing socks (and once munched on Tank’s $20 bill), he eventually calms down and Tank feels at ease having him purr on his lap.

Believe it or not, Tank does have appreciation for the great outdoors. He has a lot of fond memories about his Dad. A big majority of those memories take place camping in late summer. He finds it easier to ground himself when on a long hiking trail, birdwatching, making a campfire and canoeing. No fishing though, he will fistfight a mackerel.

Takeo Masaki

Peace and quiet. Complete solitude. He’s very introverted, perhaps to the point it’s been concerned that he’s a hikkikomori. But that won’t stop Takeo from finding a place with gentle atmosphere. A bonus if he can have a cup of tea as well, lemon ginger with a spoonful of honey to be exact.

His hobbies give his mind distraction. He enjoys tending to his small garden of flowers and a small bamboo plant. If he had to choose, he would say African daisies are his favorite flower. Takeo also loves Lily of the Valley, but knows they can be poisonous so he doesn’t have them. Other hobbies include meditation, reading, working on his memoir, keeping sharp on his combat training and his new interest in woodworking.

Takeo will light up if you have his specific type of witty humor. He isn’t always thrilled by crass comments. But there have been a few times he let it slide by for the sake of making light of a situation. The best I can describe it is that it tends to be a little snarky with some situational humor. It’s what helps him connect a bit better with Dempsey.

Edward Richtofen

I think it goes without question that he is a huge bookworm. But his taste is not what you’d expect. Aside from nonfiction involving scientific topics, he also enjoys romance novels. But he’d never confess that to anyone! One of his all time favorites is a theory written about the concept of time and quantum gravity research.

Edward has always dreamt of traveling. Technically, he is with the teleporter. But it’s not the same as having a getaway vacation like a train ride to the Swiss Alps or exploring a bustling city like New York. He recalls a few times where he tried to make a vacation out of traveling abroad for Group 935 and illuminati related purposes. And his family had visited Italy a few times in past summers as a child. Perhaps someday, he’ll be able to make this dream of his a reality.

Success, of course! Isn’t it obvious? When you’ve had so many colleagues und oppressors order you around, it’s enough of a drive to finally take control in your hands and to do things YOUR way! He’s a highly ambitious doctor. There is always a plan accompanied with a goal or purpose in the long run. The smoother things go, the more gleeful he behaves. Is that why he was so happy at Camp Edward?

I’m mad because knowing him, there is definitely one way to relieve his stress that we will NOT speak of. Ach, primitive simpelton! Instead, I’ll add that he has a soft spot for jazz music and stuffed animals (both real and the teddy bear kind)

Nikolai Belinski

There’s more depth to him than just your standard vodka answer. But we’ll kick things off and say yes he does enjoy a good drink. His favorite besides vodka is Țuică. But it’s SO strong he saves it for special occasions. And he has to drink it at home because he got kicked out at one of the bars he used to go to because of it.

Believe it or not, he’s an excellent cook! He can win the hearts of many with a warm meal. Nikolai enjoys making comforting stews to pelmeni to even bread baking every now and then. It was more frequent when he was sober but he still gives it a shot every now and then. Just as long as he’s regular drunk and not super drunk. Super drunk makes everything a bit disastrous.

Nikolai loves stories. He has many good ones to tell. But he also loves hearing from others about their lives. Nikolai also enjoys card games like blackjack or war. He’s an incredibly skilled player so if he asks you to play, know you have a real challenge on your hands

[raptorfae53]

Monster High Reimagined

Clawdeen Wolf character bio/redesign

Clawdeen wolf (she/her)

(Lesbian)

3rd werewolf child of the Wolf family 

(African-American)

(Transforms on the full moon into a timber wolf)

A New York City-born werewolf with a deep love for the world of fashion,clawdeen is an ambitious,independent and serious girl whose often contradictory desires to both carve out her own legend whilst also living up to the reputation of her big sister clawdia way too often feed back into her self doubt,in itself not helped by the shakeup of her family's recent move to a homestead outside New Salem. Regardless, clawdeen hopes that this change of pace and the new friends she's made at monster high can be the start of something great in itself.

Likes: her siblings,fashion design,animal print ,thrifting for clothing and fabric and long jogs.

Dislikes: her siblings,artists block,silver jewellery (allergic) ,synthetic cotton and people being antagonistic towards her friends.

Killer style: being an aspiring fashionista,clawdeen's designs and by extent personal style take inspiration from many sources across time and the planet, leaning mostly into the looks of the 70s, 90s and contemporary african and afro-american fashion, often made out of upcycled materials in her favoured shades of purple,gold and green. 

Familiar: Crescent is Clawdeen's family's Bingus Sphinx cat and often the involuntary model for small outfits clawdeen likes to make out of fabric scraps,which he often voices his displeasure for by knocking items off of clawdeen's desk or loafing himself in inconvenient spots around her room.

Pet Peeve: One thing that unquestionably irks clawdeen is people (most often humans) telling her that she'd look prettier if she started shaving her fur. An insensitive question even if she weren't a werewolf,and one that makes her glad her parents instilled in her a strong sense of personal pride at a young age, a similar sentiment also existing for those who tell her to straighten her naturally curly hair.

Freaky Flaw: her self-doubt,ever present in the back of clawdeen's head and often gnawing on her conscience,it makes clawdeen worry about things otherwise set in stone and makes her feel more obnoxious and abrasive than she really is,especially when it comes to her friends and love life.

Spooky Secret: ever since they met the summer before high school started clawdeen has had a frankly colossal crush on draculaura,but since draculaura got together with her brother Clawd she's decided to keep it under wraps to avoid things getting… awkward between the three of them,and besides the two of them are the closest of friends and 'Lala and Clawd make for an adorable couple.

Dream job: To work in fashion of course! Clawdeen has grand ambitions to run a full fashion empire that represents and caters to both humans and monsters, to get a headstart on said plans,clawdeen is taking economics,art and textiles classes as well as honing her skills in her own time taking commissions.

Five Fearsome Facts:

Clawdeen wore glasses during elementary and middle school but switched them out for contacts after middle school graduation, worried they'd make her look too "childish" in high school and wanting to emulate her older sister Clawdia at the time.

Outside of fashion design,one of Clawdeen's favourite pastimes is athletics and particularly running, With one of the most satisfying things for her being taking a jog/run after spending a long day in class or in her room drawing and sewing. 

With their being so many members of her family to feed as well as too many deer in New England clawdeen's family hunt and fish in the woods around their farm alongside Keeping livestock like pigs and poultry. Clawdeen often joining her dad and siblings to fish and socialise in the woods when she needs to de-stress from her busy school schedule.

Among the many hobbies clawdeen has taken up since she moved to new Salem is attempting to spin yarn for use in her designs,unfortunately this endeavour has hit a roadblock thanks to the presence of rámon the alpaca,the only wool-bearing animal on the wolf homestead and the bad-tempered bane of clawdeen's sisters howleen and weredith's existence. Nonetheless clawdeen keeps on attempting to shear him, despite his objections…

Before meeting her future besties over the summer at MHs induction weekend, clawdeen was quite lonely in middle school and spent a lot of time online fashion forums. Here however she met Skelita and Jinafire,two other aspiring fashion designers,and the three became fast friends over many conversations on Instagrave and Pinterrorest, clawdeen hoping the three can meet up someday in person at one of the big fashion weeks in Paris,London or New York.

I'm back,and considerably faster than with the last few entries in this series.

With the debut of the first werewolf of this reimaginings cast,I feel as if it's as good a time as any to explain how werewolves work in this universe.

In short, werewolves are sort of similar to vampires in the sense that they turn from a humanoid form with canid features (I feel the closest approximation in this case would be how the wolf siblings are drawn by artists like mossy_moth and nati_chuan on Instagram) into a species of wolf or fox on the full moon,clawdeen and her family in particular turn into Eastern or timber wolves,a species/subspecies native to the northeastern US and Canada:

Also yes,Werewolves also have tails in their humanoid forms too.

Anyhow, hope you like this profile and I hope to be back soon with another one.

[corndoggod]

Christmas Letter

For as long as I can remember, my Grandma has mailed a Christmas letter to friends and family far and wide with life updates. In recent years, I couldn’t help but notice my mentions have shrunk to a mere fragment. My brother Ethan still gets a whole paragraph devoted to his ventures as a wildland firefighter crisscrossing the country to snuff out history-making fires. Meanwhile, “Connor still lives in Brooklyn” to use my grandma’s parlance. 

It’s unclear if this sleight of hand from Grandma is passive-aggressive or ruthless editing. Years ago I had “Connor’s still in Brooklyn writing book reviews and riding his bike,” which was basically my author bio at the time. But maybe it’s that my life in the city has lockjaw and I don’t call Grandma enough. 

Anyway, I’ve spent today thinking about Christmas traditions and when I opened the mailbox I remembered Grandma’s faithful Christmas letter. Our holiday game as a family is weak, which is something I do and don’t like. I do not care for all the pomp and circumstance and excess of some families, but I do like making a day feel special through shared labor or chicanery. Grandma’s Christmas letter is special and so I’d like to carry on that torch with a new Christmas letter titled: Still in Brooklyn. 

I decided to stay in New York for Christmas this year. It wasn’t an easy decision, even if it was what I wanted. My Dad had a life-changing stroke in late spring and now lives in an assisted care facility. My Mom sold our childhood home and moved to the burbs with her boyfriend Neil. I moved into an apartment with my girlfriend Celina after living with the boys in Flatbush since 2016. 

Looking back, this was a year of massive change. Relationships evolved, just about everyone I knew moved, health and finance kneecapped me and loved ones, and life felt like it was narrowing for the first time. Which is to say the field of possibilities was shrinking, ambition was checked and life’s habits were fortified, for good and bad. 

The first half of 2023 sucked to be honest. Looking for an “affordable” apartment in New York derailed me and Celina’s life for months, stress-tested our relationship and bludgeoned any notion of living with comfort or longevity in the place I’ve called home for the last eight years. I finally landed a permanent role at my job after multiple contract extensions but was unhappy with where I landed and demoralized after struggling for so long to prove my worth. And then, when apartment hunting finally broke me and my workload reached a new frenzy thanks to blockbuster reporting, my Dad had a second stroke.  

I forgot he’d even had one before, it was so minor. I knew this one was serious when I heard his garbled speech in the background. I knew it was my Dad’s voice, but his speech was so slurred it didn’t sound like him or anyone really. I booked a ticket home the next morning and, for the next two weeks, commuted to Omaha every day to visit him at the medical center. 

Lifelong resentments and deep anxieties slithered around my neck and squeezed me into submission. My Dad’s precarious financial situation, his inability to care for himself and the general disarray of his life were now my problem. That’s how I took it at least. I had help of course. My Mom was there every step of the way, even though they divorced long ago, and my brother flew in a couple of days later. But there was something stubborn and proud in me that wanted to carry more of the burden. I thought about moving to Omaha for the summer. I thought New York long-term was untenable now and here was proof. I could retire to the Midwest where I could care for my Dad, write about it all and Celina could make clothes and art again without financial stress. 

Writing this, it’s crazy to think that last Christmas my brother finally confronted my Dad about being a poor father to us. After my brother’s bravery and my Dad’s obliviousness to any neglect, I was released from the intrusive thoughts and feelings of guilt and anger about my Dad that snared me late at night. Poor Dad must feel so alone. Dad did nothing at all to support me from thirteen onward. So much resentment, shame, anger and embarrassment pinballed around the nexus of my father…. I’ll spare you the details. I’m saving them for a personal essay I’ve been meaning to write for years but never had the courage to be so brutally honest. 

By May, between all the credit checks and gaining power of attorney over my father’s affairs, I fully felt my 30 years and everything a new decade of life brings.

While in the hospital at my Dad’s bedside, a broker called me to offer an apartment he wasn’t going to put on the market. We applied and won it and we couldn’t have been happier. It’s the best home I’ve ever lived in. I wrote about the new apartment here. 

I returned to Nebraska in July with Celina for a road trip through South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana. It was glorious and freeing once I stopped fretting and planning. We got lost in molten psychedelic rivers, fell in love with Big Horn Country, saw old friends. I wrote about that trip here. 

After that life is a bit of a blur. Things happened, but I’m not sure what merits mention in a year-in-review. I’ll be short since this has already run long. 

Late summer was kinder. I signed up for a marathon in October and began training in earnest in late July. This consumed my life for the next three months since I take myself quite seriously. Many thanks to Celina for dealing with my gripes, appetites and Strava obsessions. I didn’t do much else in this period. I watched a lot of movies, improved my kitchen skills and came around to baths, which was a larger recognition on my part that I need to be kind to my body and take rest and recovery as seriously as training. No longer can I run hungover or with burger belly. 

My hard work paid off in the end. I placed 25th in the marathon with a 3:15 time, won a medal in my age group (30-34) and gained the confidence I could qualify for Boston on a flatter course with less workouts missed. Maybe 2024. 

Maine treated us well. We made a trip out of the endeavor and spent a week roaming the coastline with stops in Bangor, where my Dad was born, Bar Harbor, where the marathon was, and Portland, where all ex-New York chefs go to die. Safe to say we fell for Maine. In mid-October, the leaves were primed for ogling. We brought our bikes and took advantage of Acadia’s glorious carriage trails and Portland’s crushed gravel. We ate like kings in Portland. I had two of the best meals of my life back to back (biscuit breakfast sandwich + pastry from Tandem Bakery and then khao soi + ramen from Honey Paw). It was a perfectly well-rounded trip blending physical exertion, nature excursions and culinary delights. We loved Portland so much -- the culinary caliber, the attention to history, the bitter wind and walkability. Unsurprisingly, they too face an affordable housing crisis. 

These are the things that puncture through in 365 days, but they are not the meat and potatoes of a year. Those lie with Celina and Chicken our cat. They live with my notebook and movies watched and reading history. They lie with the coffee I make every morning to NPR radio and the spliff that caps off most nights.

I have just returned from New Jersey, where I celebrated both Thanksgiving and Christmas with Celina’s family. I’d like to import two of their Christmas traditions. The first is that for Christmas Eve dinner everyone has an assigned seat and on top of everyone’s plate is a book wrapped in butcher paper handpicked by her mother. I would like to do this for the holidays and dinner parties. There are few things I love more than recommending books. 

The second is a breakfast feast on Christmas day. We had waffles and sausages, fruit salad and toad in a hole, bloody mary’s and coffee with cream. Breakfast is my favorite meal and what a way to start the day. 

Merry Christmas one and all. Perhaps next year I’ll type this out on my typewrite and xerox a copy to friends and family.

[deadwardianpoltergeist]

basic premise of the upbringing of my AU turtles

splinter(who is the late yoshi’s lost pet rat) is mutated with only mikey, raph, and leo initially

leatherhead, who is sleeping nearby, is splashed by mutagen as well

mikey, being notoriously easily distracted(somebody should put that infant on a leash) wanders over to leatherhead, who wakes up, panicked

in the panic splinter is left having to chase the startled raph and leo, and when he comes back for mikey both her and leatherhead are gone

splinter tries it’s best to juggle raising his new kids well and looking for mikey(to little avail)

leo is worried, but is a little kid who cares more about attention from splints than a sibling he barely remembers

raph is very stressed out by the anxiety splinter shows constantly worrying about mikey. of course, she’s like three, so his thoughts go along the lines of “if I get a new sibling then he’ll stop being so distressed and stay home” (she hates seeing his dad like this, the guilt, the misery, and splinter doesn’t fully realize how much his misery is affecting the two kids it still has)

raph has basic knowledge of how he exists, with the mutagen. splinter often comes back from its searches with canisters he stashes away so they can’t wreak more havoc.

so, raph steals a canister while splinter is away

she finds a (common snapping turtle) nest in one of the farther areas of the sewers

he grabs one of the eggs and opens the canister(this shit is an irresponsible biohazard nobody babyproofed it) and mutates his new unborn sibling(and also said siblings bio mom but that’s not important right now)

the young raphael’s plan kind of works actually??

well, splinter definitely spends more time on the kids he lives with now, though he’s still awfully stressed, the amount of grey hair would make one of those beauty gurus obsessed with youth drop dead on the spot(and not just because he’s a mutant rat)

donnie and raph are very close, but donnie’s mutation inflicts a similar guilt to what splinter feels about losing mikey on raph

donnie would probably have some turtle fibromyalgia without the mutagen, and it would probably be a lot worse to live with as a wild baby trying to make it alone in the sewers on new york, but raph doesn’t know that

he thinks she did this, caused this pain for donnie, and she feels terrible about it

but she’s smart, he notices as the years pass that splinter and leo coddling don just makes them miserable, so she tries his best to push a lot of her worries about it to the side

eventually they’re best friends

leon is very much Splinter Jr, as he always is, and also is OBSSESED with astronomy(not to be confused with star signs)

he’s a pretty stressed little guy but out of everyone he’s the most chill at this young stage(wish I could say he’s as carefree later in life but it’s leonardo let’s be fr)

meanwhile, leatherhead has been raising mikey in a different part of the sewers. and yes, leatherhead is a very compassionate parent and they try very hard, but he’s not especially mentally stable. he gets better, and mikey helps them a lot, but no amount of guilt and anguish he feels about having mikey witness him having these horrible episodes will stop them. LH never asked to be a parent, but he didn’t see splinter when they got mutated, and mikey barely recalls. there’s nothing else he can do, they feel trapped

anyways basic overview there’s so much more and I 100% should have it written down more in depth(maybe on ao3? though I do have a couple more things to figure out) but here’s the early childhood of the turtles(under 10 years old)

[jamesxbennett]

Intro — James Bennett

Full name: James Anthony Bennett Nickname(s): J or JJ Age: 35 Birthday: August 22, 1989 Hometown: Albany, New York

Languages spoken: English, Spanish, ASL, some Pashto, Dari, and Arabic Accent: Typical American accent

Smells like: Old Spice, coffee, a hint of peppermint from the mints he chews, a slight woody musk from his usual cologne

Family: Josephine Amelia Bennett née Walker [Mother], Joseph Anthony Bennett [Father, deceased], Amelia Marie Bennett [sister], Rey Skywalker Bennett [dog and buddy]

Relationship status: Single

More under the cut!

Hair color: Dirty blonde Eye color: Blue Height: 6'0

Occupation: Head of the Literature Department at Blue Harbor University Neighborhood: Deer Park Time in Blue Harbor: A week or so

MBTI: ISTJ Positives: Resilient, friendly, goofy, caring Negatives: Reclusive, overbearing at times, stubborn, sometimes lives in denial, self-deprecating to a fault, doesn’t trust other easily

Defining traits: That bright smile; always whistling what seems to be a crooner tune but it’s probably Guns ‘N Roses or AC/DC; at a park, he’s most definitely the guy conversing with his dog; always has a coffee and book in hand; at a party, he’s easily spotted as the guy not drinking as he doesn’t drink at all.

Scars: Random small scars scattered on his right chest and part of his right arm from explosive shrapnel; a diagonal slash on his back on the left side about 10 inches in length from a knife.

Pets: Rey, a golden retriever named after the Star Wars character

Bio: [TW: Alcoholism, abandonment, divorce, death]

The Bennetts seemed like the picture-perfect family. James was an energetic little boy, followed five years after by Amelia, who just added joy to their already happy family. The siblings grew up loved and wanting for nothing, doted on by their parents who strove to provide and make ends meet. They weren’t necessarily poor but there were times when things got tough. But as long as they were together, they’d be fine.

That all came crashing down when the siblings were sat down by their parents one night and were told that mommy and daddy were separating. They didn’t understand it then. It took a few years before James learned what an affair was and that his mother was having one for a good two years.

Still, James thought it was fine. So what if he and Amelia split their time between their mom and dad? But then his mom moved to a different coast and his dad took up drinking. The Reed siblings suddenly had a rude awakening: they only had each other—but they resolved that that would be enough. 

Their dad fell deeper into the bottle while their mom virtually disappeared, only for them to find out she had a different family now. James knew it was on him to take care of his baby sister so he worked odd jobs starting from middle school to provide for the both of them since their dad was pretty much absent since he was always so drunk. 

James also found himself getting into more than a few fights, something that irked his teachers because he was such a gifted student. “You would excel so much more if you used your brain more than your fists,” they told him. What they didn’t understand was that he was simply standing up for his sister who was getting bullied. They would always retort that he should simply report what was happening but nothing ever came of it.

And then one day, the siblings returned from school with their house surrounded by police cars and an ambulance. Their father had died—he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. Asked for next of kin, they brought up their mother. She didn’t want them. 

Now he felt more responsible than ever before because Amelia had literally no one else to rely on—and he felt more lonely than ever before. Thankfully, someone took them in as foster kids. Realizing that there wasn’t much of a future for him or his sister unless he did something about it, he resolved that he would join the Army. He thought it was the best course of action to give Amelia a future. His sister, however, felt like she was abandoned. Unbeknownst to the elder Bennett, their relationship would suffer greatly—and it still hasn’t fully recovered.

His time in the Army taught him to trust. It was there that lifelong bonds were formed, but only one that he cherished the most. Sophia was someone who caught him off guard, and in the midst of a warzone, the two fell in love. They were looking forward to their life of normalcy back at home and had planned to live a romantic city life together before moving to the country to start a family with probably six to eight dogs and a farm.

Life, yet again, was unkind. Sophia was killed in an ambush a month shy from being discharged. 

Devastated, he pushed through, leaving his pain and trauma untreated and unchecked. He had a stint at a private security firm and flew to Egypt to provide security at an archaeological dig. It was here that he met Nilay, the one who would fill in the sibling-shaped void in his heart though he certainly wasn’t planning on it. The two became fast friends, and she would pretty much save his life a few years later. 

Having acheived a Bachelor’s while in the Army, he pursued a Master’s Degree when he got back while teaching high school. Once he got it, he became a professor, but as his career progressed, his trauma remained, and he didn’t realize that his reclusive ways had returned once again in full force. Fortunately, he had Nilay who helped walk him through it. 

He’s slowly trying to recover and deal with the trauma of his past while also moving on. Nilay suggested Blue Harbor as a place to get a fresh start, and since the University was hiring, he jumped on the opportunity. But would his new home truly be the fresh start he’s looking for and finally help him move on with his life?

[jnlnyaface]

Weird Book/Movie Theory

Ok, go with me here this is going to be a wild one.

What if the female protagonist in toxic relationship books/movies was replaced with a clone during the course of the books/movies and that’s why she’s so ok with everything that happens and initially being against the male protagonist's antics.

The Theory – There's a secret organization that recognizes when women are with super toxic men. Since these men are unlikely to grow as people or seek mental health treatment the organization wants them to stay with their current partner so no other woman will have to deal with them. However, the women don’t want to be stuck with the toxic men so the organization clones them. They then program the clone to stay with the man no matter what. This is why after the female MC breaks up with the male MC she goes from keeping her distance to being right back in the thick of it with little to no reasonable explanation. Let’s take a walk shall we…

Disclaimer – I have not read any of the books nor have I seen most of the movies I’m about to talk about. Most, if not all, of my knowledge of these stories comes from reading Reddit posts about them and watching YouTube videos from KennieJD, DylanIsInTrouble, AmandaTheJedi, and FullOfLit. This theory, which is flimsy at best, is based on very limited knowledge of the various source material.

Where This Theory Came From - I thought of this while I was watching the “Bad Movies and a Beat” video for the Passionflixs' film “Tangled”. In the video Kennie says that Kate, the female MC, went from not giving Drew, the male lead, the time of day to forgiving him later that night. This made me think of 50 Shades of Grey, when Anna goes from wanting nothing to do with Christian to marrying him like 2 months later. It also reminded me of After when Tessa goes from breaking up with Hardin for legit reasons to putting up with his BS for literally zero reasons. I mostly came up with this theory because a large part of me wants to believe there is no way a woman, even a fictional woman, would put up with the crap these men put them and the world through.

After

This is mostly around the plot of the movies. 

Tessa breaks up with Hardin after she finds out about the dare. At first, they stay apart for a while, and she goes on about her life. Then they get back together later and are relatively happy. Then at the end of the 2nd movie she has her car accident. It’s possible this is when the switch happened. The Tessa that left the hospital was not the same Tessa that went in. But OG Tessa maybe felt guilty about never seeing her mom again, so she switches back. It’s not until After Ever Happy when she's about to move to New York that she decides she can’t do it anymore. So, it’s her clone that moves to New York and OG Tessa continues her life in Seattle. 

Note: I know the logistics of this would be wonky especially considering Tessa worked for Hardin’s bio dad’s company but maybe she moved somewhere else and changed her identity. I haven’t fully worked that part out yet. 

I know that in the books her mom is terrible so maybe she realized cutting her off wasn’t the worst thing. This would also explain how she was suddenly able to have children later on. (Please let me know if she had the kids naturally or if they adopted or if they got a surrogate or something. I don’t remember if that was ever explained). 

50 Shades of Grey / Tangled

Anna would’ve switched after she broke up with Christian the first time. After the red room stuff, she was like “nah bruh I’m good” and he kept basically stalking her. The organization would’ve approached her then and she would switch immediately and never look back. The Anna in the 2nd and 3rd books/movies was the clone the whole time. 

Tangled is similar. Kate and her ex Billy had a conversation at her work after he tried to serenade her and get her back. After that Drew assumed Kate was getting back together with Billy and faked setting up a date in front of Kate. Kate, hurt by this, broke up with Drew. Between her breaking up with him and taking him back he kept calling her and sending her things and embarrassing/stalking her. Kate then asked Drew to dinner as a last hurrah so they could have a clean break. But the Kate that asked him to dinner and the Kate that actually went to the dinner were two different people. The clone is the one who attended the dinner. The organization reached out to her during her breakup with Drew and she jumped on the chance. I read the synopsis of the later books (KennieJD has only talked about one movie on her channel and while I know there are at least 2 more books I don't know if they've made any more movies) and I know Kate’s ex becomes really successful later and she and Drew run into him at some point. I think the OG Kate changed her identity and when her ex, Billy, got himself together they reconnected (she obviously would have to tell him everything that happened) and they got back together and went on to live happily ever after.

365 DNI

Now this one is the crazy one, like crazier than all the rest for sure. I think Laura has had multiple clones that have died. When she got kidnapped by Massimo in the beginning, I think a combination of Stockholm Syndrome and giving into the fantasy of being powerful adjacent were driving her. Then he sent her back to Poland. While in Poland she talks to her family and maybe a therapist and starts to realize the depth of the trauma she went through. This is when the organization comes in. At first, she’s on board but starts to change her mind, possibly due to denial from not fully processing her trauma. When Massimo comes back, she’s once again swept up in the fantasy but finding out she’s pregnant knocks her out of it. She agrees to the clone and switches places. But when the car goes through the tunnel at the end of the film her clone is killed. OG Laura loses the baby from the stress, then switches back and pretends like it was her the whole time and that she miraculously survived. 

Then in the second movie she meets and falls in love with Nacho and gets “kidnapped” again. When she finds out that she’s actually been abducted and isn’t just on a sexy vacation she finds a way to contact the organization. When the “wrong” guards have her that’s when the switch happens…again. However, this second clone is shot and dies in the hospital so Laura has to switch back again. In the books Laura chooses Nacho and the movies end on a cliffhanger. This was probably the real Laura because she picked someone other than the OG male love interest. 

Note: there’s a second theory I have where the OG Laura died in the tunnel car accident or earlier because of her heart condition and the organization made a clone so Massimo wouldn’t know but that clone died in the car accident. They made a new one and that one got shot so the last Laura in the 3rd book/movie is the 2nd or 3rd clone. Because where did her heart condition go?! 

Like I said this is just something that’s been floating around in my mind for a while. Tell me what you think and if there are any other toxic relationships where you think the woman (or man) was replaced with a clone. Please remember I have only consumed these books/movies by proxy so any inconsistencies or plot holes should be blamed on me not having all the information from the source material.

[deadcityhq]

CHARACTER INFORMATION: 

**CHARACTER NAME:** sable ward

**CHARACTER FACECLAIM:** vanja jagnic

**CHARACTER AGE/DOB (if relevant/they’re not old af):** april 18th 1995, 29

**CHARACTER PRONOUNS/GENDER IDENTITY/SEXUALITY ETC:** she/her/witch / female / lesbian

**CHARACTER FANDOM (if relevant):** dead by daylight

**OC OR CANON:**  canon

**CHARACTER TYPE (for example: werewolf, shadowhunter, warlock, demon etc):**  human / witch

**HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN IN NEW YORK/WHY ARE THEY THERE ETC:** not very long AT ALL, nor does she know why she ended up in new york and not back in her hometown of greenville, but she’s hoping, choosing to believe that there must be a reason why, and the only logical reason in her mind is mikaela.

**IMPORTANT CHARACTER INFORMATION TO NOTE AND SHARE (this could be important headcanons for initial plotting, mini bios etc, supporting docs):**

sable never really fit in, not even with her own family, her mom being this bright, suburban nightmare and her dad being this golf-loving former frat boy type… while sable was more into the unusual, the dark, the scary things that were in the world around her. the things that didn’t fit, that didn’t seem quite right… it felt like everyone around her lived in this rose-tinted version of the world, where they never saw the darkness, the darker parts of the world around them, but she did.

the only person that she did end up feeling like she fit with, was mikaela, her first friend, who eventually became her everything. the one thing in the world that she did see with rose-tinted glasses. and while that usually wasn’t what she looked for, what she was interested in, mikaela meant the world to her, and sable would hold on tight to her as long as she possibly could.

she had a love for all things horror, occult, all of those kinds of things, but she liked it when it was cruel, bloody, gory and unforgiving… which is probably fitting considering where she soon finds herself.

when mikaela disappeared, not only was sable heartbroken, but she felt lost, too… not quite sure what her place in the world was without mikaela. but instead of wallowing in sadness over it, the way that she dealt with it all was by searching. stubbornly and relentlessly trying to find a way to figure out what happened to mikaela, because none of it made sense. none of it added up… and while she was pretty sure that the entire town thought she’d lost her mind when a year later she was still searching for mikaela, she didn’t stop… and eventually, found herself in the fog too. and to sable, it didn’t matter where they were. it didn’t matter that they were in a never-ending nightmare. all that mattered to her was that she was with mikaela. so of course there were complicated feelings when she woke up at the ever-burning campfire, to find the space beside her that was usually occupied by mikaela empty. of course she was glad for mikaela, that she was no longer living this nightmare but… those feelings that had taken over her when mikaela first disappeared hit her all over again.s

ince then, she’s been trying everything that she possibly could, during, in between trials… trying to somehow find her way out of the fog, keeping strong intentions to find mikaela again because she refused to be without her - until she finally found herself out of the fog and in new york.

**THREE AESTHETICS THAT REMIND YOU OF YOUR CHARACTER:**

embracing the darkest, twisted parts of yourself and not hiding them away

finding joy and amusement in freaking people out

gladly walking to hell and back for the one person that means the most

OOC INFORMATION: 

**MUN NAME/ALIAS:** alice

**MUN AGE:** 28

**MUN TRIGGERS:** detailed descriptions of suicide and self harm

[themomsandthecity]

I Went to a Viral TikTok Medium to Connect With My Dead Mother

I've always been what some may call "woo-woo." I'm a self-identified crystal girlie, another 20-something on her spiritual journey, and yes, if given the opportunity, I will take every tarot card reading ever presented to me. So, naturally, when my estranged mom passed away in early 2019, I started considering what some folks might consider an unconventional option: hiring a medium to connect with her in the afterlife. For quite some time, however, I didn't know where to look . . . until last year. I was scrolling through my For You page on TikTok, when I came across Amie Balesky, a spiritual medium who's amassed a cool three million followers under her account, The Balesky. Known for connecting people with lost spirits and the dead, her bio reads, "Helping Spirits & People since 1995." Balesky's page is full of clips from virtual readings with folks around the world. In them, she's answering questions about the afterlife, offering helpful life advice, and of course, connecting lost loved ones with their living family and friends. I immediately reached out to Balesky's team and booked a session six months out - which, for one of the top-rated mediums in the Northern hemisphere, is pretty standard. When the day finally came, I was so excited. Nervous, too. This was my chance to connect with my mother: the woman who didn't get to raise me, who left my life for 11 years, who missed out on so much in her own existence because of her long 32-year battle with methamphetamine addiction. It was my chance to say and hear all the things I never got to. Before my hour-long session, I received instructions from Balesky: seek out a calm space for the session, spend the days before and after asking the spirit to come forward, and write down any questions you may want to ask. It's important to note that, before my session, the only thing Balesky had asked from me was the name of the person I was trying to reach. I didn't share any identifying factors about my mother or myself; she didn't know my age, my mom's age, how she died, my story, or anything that could have led her to certain conclusions. Before I knew it, it was my time. Upon joining the call, I'm greeted by Balesky, who emanates a positive energy and makes me smile. She doesn't seem much different than the woman I had seen on TikTok, which is reassuring, and she sits in a witchy-looking room that feels oddly comforting: the walls are a dark shade of purple, lighting is low, and candles flicker on tables behind her. Balesky explains how the process of channeling works for her. Spirits communicate through her, using her brain like a computer, and according to her, they can show her images, make her feel emotions, and even emit words or phrases to get messages across to the living. She also shows me a notebook, which she uses to scribble on, while she channels. Then, the channeling begins. "I see an image of you crying . . . maybe five years ago," Balesky says. "Are you with someone now but you were with someone else five years ago?" Yes, I had been: five years ago, I was with my ex-husband, and moved to New York City, before meeting my current husband. "There's a few people here. You had a man come in for a second but he went away and now, there's a woman. Oh, she keeps saying 'mom,' 'mother,' 'mom.'" I smile, happy my mom decided to show up for me now, when I asked her. My mom died of an overdose, but I hadn't told Balesky that. "Did your mom die of . . . oh, she's saying, 'janky medication,'" Balesky says. Ah, yes, janky medication. Balesky gestures that my mom is shaking a pill bottle, and taking one, and then another, and then a third. "It's not a good combination," mom says. No shit, it's not. Balesky correctly notes that my mom and dad weren't together when my mom passed. My parents had been in an on-again-off-again relationship for most of my life before ending things fully in 2004. They were extremely toxic to each other.… https://www.popsugar.com/family/spiritual-medium-estranged-mother-essay-49366875?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[crushsung]

#CRUSHSUNG: ind. original character roleplay blog. written by dillon; twenty-five, they/them, lesbian. triggering themes will be present. mutuals only, minors do not interact.

a study in: fallen angels, gifted child burnout, alter egos, the obsessed artist, desire to be great or nothing, self-destruction, self-mythologizing, reinvention, reclaiming your own narrative.

LINKS: verses. headcanons. playlist. pinterest. interest tracker. OTHER BLOG(S): praybird. nepoboyfriend. visceraldose.

RULES:

triggering content will be present, including but not limited to themes involving past emotional abuse/domestic violence, child neglect/exploitation, implied grooming, and substance use. none of these subjects will be written in graphic detail, but are prevalent in alice's story. i will tag whatever i can, but please use your own discretion if you decide to follow.

i do not have a ton of triggers myself, but i do ask that others please tag images of snails, slugs, and any content involving self harm.

i'm open to writing n.sfw content if we have (heavily) plotted and know each other fairly well, but i'd prefer to keep anything of an explicit nature on disc.ord. sexual content may be implied here and there, but won't be written graphically here.

iconless, mostly. sometimes not. not particular focused on visual aesthetic at the moment; i keep formatting fairly simple, but feel free to do whatever works best for you.

a little bit about me: hi, i'm dillon. aspiring screenwriter, gothic horror enthusiast, would-be hamlet impersonator, best friend of snoopy, and many other things. i've been working on a tv script featuring alice and several other characters for some time now. i have insomnia so i'm often here at odd hours. mutuals are always welcome to bother me, either here or on disc.ord (available on request!)

TEMPORARY BIO:

name. alice hélène brennan. nicknames/alias. known professionally as liddell. allie/ally or liss to select friends and partners. lissy to her mother. gender. cis woman. pronouns. she/her. birthday. august 30. age. verse dependent, 24+ in main. sexuality. bisexual, closeted. a lot of speculation and debate about this amongst the fans and media, many claim that she's dropped 'hints' in her work, but she's never confirmed or denied anything. parents. celine bouchard and owen brennan. siblings. leo brennan and nolan brennan. current location. manhattan, new york.  birthplace. vancouver, british columbia. spoken languages. english (fluent), french (fluent). education. high school graduate. homeschooled from 9th to 12th grade. occupation. former musician. current poet/novelist. later film composer. faceclaim. daisy edgar-jones (main), stacy martin (alt), mackenzie davis (older) voiceclaim. riley keough. eye colour. brown. hair colour. brown. body type. slim build. height. 5'6" scent. bergamot, jasmine, honey, sea breeze, sandalwood. typically wears aegea blossom eau de parfum by aerin. tattoos/piecings. see board. personality. abrasive, distant, passionate, protective, stoic, thoughtful.

everybody knows you. nobody knows you. you don't let them.

they know versions of you - some that you allow, some that they crafted on their own. the child prodigy. a household name before you were in high school. something special, at least for awhile. before things got twisted, before you lost control of the narrative. you didn't really want any of that to begin with, but they insisted. mom and dad. crafty social climbers.

mom and dad. they might be the two people who know you the least. they never really wanted you to begin with, but you were useful. a means to an end. they split up eventually, because of course, nothing like that ever lasts. you often wonder if they ever loved each other. you know for certain that they didn't love you.

dad's got a new family now. you don't talk to them, or him. mom still calls, sometimes she visits. you always feel so guilty whenever she's around.

you don't make music anymore, but your name is still in the headlines. most of it's about your personal life. they always loved that stuff. your first kiss was documented - remember that? it made you feel sick after, how a private moment was taken and made public for everyone to see. you've never had a relationship that wasn't on display.

maybe that's why it didn't work with adam. it never felt like he was just yours or that you were just his. he loved you, or at least you think he did. but you didn't really know how to love him back. you let him go, even though it hurt. because you're a heartbreaker, or so they say.

or maybe it's that you're too damaged to be known. roy did a number on you. you still think about him sometimes, even though it's been years. you see his face everywhere. they play his songs in grocery stores. the worst part of all this, despite all he put you through, is that he might very well be the person who knew you the best. it was four years, after all. (it was longer than four years, but you aren't supposed to say that.) roy said a lot of things that weren't true about you, but some of them were. you were cruel, callous. he made you that way. you don't know how to unmake yourself.

SUMMARY:

alice - better known by her stage name 'liddell' - is a recognizable figure. famous since she was 13, once hailed as a child prodigy, several award winning albums.

has twin half-brothers, 16 years her junior, named leo and nolan on her father's side. doesn't have much of a relationship with them, only sees them on special occasions.

had a relationship with another musician and producer - roy taylor, you might know him too - since she was 18, ended when she was 22. emotionally fraught, sometimes abusive relationship. messy breakup. he had quite a few unflattering things to say about her in the end. the general public sided with him on that. she left the music industry shortly after.

also previously dated adam roswell - frontman of a punk band called blemishes. fans and press gave him the nickname 'nepo boyfriend', due to the supposed 'career boost' that came with being associated with her.

currently writes poetry and fiction. has published a poetry collection titled 'crush songs' - well reviewed, decent sales, but nowhere near the numbers she had as musician. currently working on a novel about the complex relationship between a young woman and her father - semi-autobiographical.

undiagnosed autism. special interests are ... well, as a teenager, she carried around dog-eared paperback copy of hamlet and jeff buckley's album grace on cassette tape everywhere she went. it's that serious. also likes architecture and interior design - specifically hotels. she has a bucket list of places to visit.

primarily smokes hand-rolled cigarettes. picked it up from a pretentious fuck she had a crush on when she was 15. it's pointless, but she just likes it now. will smoke store bought if it's what's available.

INFLUENCES:  beth harmon, the queen's gambit (2020 miniseries). camille preaker, sharp objects (novel and 2018 miniseries). daisy jones, daisy jones and the six (novel and 2023 miniseries). her smell (2018). marianne sheridan, normal people (novel and 2020 miniseries). sally draper, mad men (2007-2015). sydney barrett, legion (2017-2019). the music of jeff buckley. the music of lucy dacus. the public image/media perception of taylor swift.

[biography2medotorg]

Clancy Burke Bio: inside life of the nosy TV News Reporter [year]

Who is Clancy Burke? Wiki

Though she is no longer practicing journalism, Clancy Burke is more recognized for her work as a TV News Reporter, who has had to work with many TV stations, including Local 12 in Cincinnati.  Clancy is an American YouTuber, who is known for her self-titled beauty and lifestyle YouTube channel.  Now, her YouTube channel presently has over 442K subscribers and 54.36 million accumulated views.  Of course, she's also known as a former TV News Reporter and Journalist. Yeah, she says so.  Ultimately, a whole lot of things have happened in Clancy Burkeʼs life since she quit her TV news reporting job to become a full-time YouTuber.  Since she's no longer on TV, her fans and Local 12 viewers are curious to know what happened to her.  Talks about her biography: wiki, where she is today, parents, dad, siblings, high school, college, YouTube channel, age, birthday, boyfriend, husband, salary, net worth, tattle life, Reddit, and a lot more, have become trendy searches about her, more than ever!

Clancy Burke and her soon-to-be husband, Zac Rogal. Photo credit: Google photos. In general, her supporters just want to be sure that she's fine, so all these questions and a lot more are from a place of genuine concern.  Today, she's the vibe proper noun of our publication, so we've answered all those questions and more. Before we get things started, properly, take a glance at her bio wiki & quick profile rundown.  Bio Wiki & Quick Profile Rundown  Birth Name Clancy Burke Date of Birth September 10, 1995Place of Birth Long Island, New York Age27 years old Hometown New York, United States Current Home Address Cincinnati, United States Parents Tom Burke (father), Mrs. Burke (mother) Siblings Neal Burke (brother) Profession Former News Reporter & YouTuber Boyfriend/Husband Zac Rogal (soon-to-be husband) High School High school graduate College Marist College, PoughkeepsieKnown for Her YouTube channel and her work at Local 12 in Cincinnati Salary Not Estimated Net Worth $600k - $1 million 

Biography: Early Life, Birthday, Age

Born Clancy Burke on September 10, 1995, in Long Island, New York, United States, Clancy grew up in the same city.  Long Island is her hometown as well as her birthplace. Speaking of birth, she celebrated her last birthday on September 10th, 2022. So, her zodiac sign is Virgo.  Presently, she is 27 years old and resides in Cincinnati, United States. Meanwhile, she grew up in Long Island, New York, with her only brother, Neal Burke, who currently serves in the United States Marine Corps. 

Clancy and her older brother, Neal Burke, as kids. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke. Though she does talk about her personal life a little too much on her self-titled YouTube channel, she always knows when to get a grip. Therefore, she has always kept things within limits.  Talking about her YouTube channel, Clancy Burke launched her channel on November 15, 2009, when she was 14 years old—she was already a high school student, at this time.  Then, she wanted her channel to be about beauty & make-up—or so her introductory video implied. “Introduction to my new BEAUTY Channel” is her first video on YouTube, so that!  In other news, the name she gave her YouTube channel around then was “Glam and Gloss.” Needless to point out that she's since renamed her YouTube channel her full name.  Where did Clancy Burke go to High School & College  Clancy had her middle school and high school at local schools in Long Island, New York. That is to say, she holds basic certifications: an elementary school certificate and a high school diploma.  After she graduated high school, she enrolled at Marist College in Poughkeepsie in New York, where she graduated with a Degree in a journalism-related program.  For the most part, Clancy Burke decided to pursue a career in TV news reporting because she loves writing and reading.  Now she quit her news reporting job at Local 12 because she loves exploring new places and spending time doing the things that give her time to enjoy every minute of her life. Local 12 didn't give her that, or did it?  Well, whatever she does, she has her reason. Meanwhile, her parents and the nuclear family were supportive of her during her college years, as they should! They still are! And are supportive of her quitting her job at Local 12. 

Clancy Burke and her father, Tom Burke. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke. Family: Parents, Mother, Father, Brother  Tom Burke is the name of Clancyʼs father. A middle-aged loving dad, her dad has a very good—& dark, in-a-good-way—sense of humor. He's overly sarcastic and often got featured in Clancyʼs YouTube videos.  Clancyʼs dad, Tom Burke, is a carpenter by profession. And well, he is the carpenter working on some structural design of his daughter, Clancy Burke, and her boyfriend Jack Rogalʼs new home in Cincinnati.  Although her mother's name is unknown, Clancy features her mom in her YouTube videos, as much as she features her dad, Tom Burke, and her boyfriend, Jack Rogal.  In other news, Clancy has a brother. Neal Burke is the name of her brother. Meanwhile, she confirmed that her brother is working at the United States Marine Corps. Yet, it is unclear whether or not she has any other siblings aside from her brother. 

Clancy and her brother, Neal Burke. Her brother is wearing US Marine Corps uniform. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke.

Is Clancy Burke Married? Boyfriend, Husband, Engaged? 

Well, NO, Clancy is not married. But, YES, she is currently engaged. Clancy is currently in a romantic relationship with her long-term boyfriend & now-fiancé, Zac Rogal.  In one of her YouTube videos, she admitted that she and her boyfriend & soon-to-be husband, Zac Rogal, got linked up by her boyfriend's mom.  She admitted that Zac was shy, so she started the talking process first. And years later, here they are! About to be married and become husband and wife!  Clancy Burke and her boyfriend, Zac Rogal, are awesome, aren't they?! Whatever the case. . . they thought about relocating away from Cincinnati because “Cincy” (as Clancy often called it) has a very cold temperature.  Well, they recently bought their dream house worth over 750k thousand in Cincinnati. Currently, they're planning their wedding and living their best lives!  Clancyʼs soon-to-be husband, Zac Rogal, works from home while she focuses on her YouTube channel, where she makes a lot of money. Monies you could tell are much more than she earned during her years at Local 12 in Cincinnati. Or at least, close to her salary. 

Clancy and her boyfriend, Zac Rogal, in a loved-up picture. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke. Rattle Life, Reddit: Does Clancy Really Sucks?  Well, our Clancy Bee is currently being dragged on Tattle Life by some of her fans & supporters. Or, her haters? And trolls? Well. . .  According to most of the people on Tattle Life, Clancy Burke sucks! She's becoming so cringe and getting on their nerves. And did we mention, a lot of people on Tattle Life have an opinion that Clancy needs to change career, at this rate?  Or, stop repeating herself all over in every new video and find a better way to become more “creative.”  On the flip side, Clancy fans & supporters think she is awesome. None of them are dragging or calling her out on Reddit, at least, at the time we published this article.  Her fans on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter aren't dragging and calling her out as much as those on Tattle Life. And we are here wondering, WHY THE MANY HATES?!  Anyway, moving on. . .  Check out the Tattle Life thread where Clancy is being dragged and talked about. The Tattle Life thread is titled: Clancy Burke #3 Complaining all day keeps the fiancé away. 

Clancy and her boyfriend, Zac Rogal, in a loved-up picture. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke. Wikipedia, Blog, YouTube Stats, Social Media Handles  Clancy does not have a Wikipedia profile, just yet. However, she has a personal blog where she shares her journey in life.  According to our findings, she created her WordPress blog during her college years. Meanwhile, her blog is titled Candidly Clancy Blog with the web address Clancy Bee Blog.  In other news, her social media handles and YouTube stats are as follows:  Instagram ClancyTwitter ClancyYouTube Channel @ClancyBurkeXDate of Creation November 15, 2009Number of videos uploaded since the creation 817 videosNumber of subscribers 442K thousand subscribersNumber of views 54,361,196 viewsBusiness Email clancy@tbhonestsocial.com 

Career Timeline

Upon graduating college, Clancy did her internship in her dream sports news outlet, Madison Square Garden Networks.  Subsequently, she did an internship in the investigative unit at WABC in New York City.  Now Clancy Burke worked for a while at WKEF in Dayton. However, she got an offer of a job to work as a Morning TV News Reporter at Local 12 in April 2019.  Needless to mention that she quit her News Reporting Job at Local 12 in Cincinnati to become a full-time YouTuber and videos creator.  As a YouTuber, her most popular videos are her videos titled “iPod Touch Unboxing, Review and Demo” and “10 Simple Tricks to Eat Less (+ lose weight).” Speaking more about her YouTube stats, these are some of Clancy Burkeʼs uploaded YouTube videos: 

Clancy Burke, her mom, and fiancé, Zac Rogal. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke. - ‘MOVING INTO COLLEGE| DAILYCLANCY’ - ‘COMING HOME & SURPRISING MY PARENTS! | DAILYCLANCY’ - ‘WORKING AT VICTORIA’S SECRET| MY EXPERIENCE’ - ‘iPod TOUGH UNBOXING, REVIEW AND DEMO’ - ‘MY WORST TV NEWS BLOOPERS AS A REPORTER’ - ‘MY 6 P.M. BEDTIME ROUTINE (YES, REALLY) - ‘MY 2 A.M. MORNING ROUTINE (NO, THAT’S NOT A TYPO) - ‘HOW TO: CUTE/FANCY UPDO’ - ‘CHRISTMAS HAUL!’ - ‘ROOM TOUR AND TIPS/ORGANIZATION’ - ‘MALL CLOTHING HAUL’ - ‘WHAT EYE SHADOW COLORS LOOK PERFECT WITH YOUR EYE COLOR?’ — uploaded on 17th of November 2009

What is Clancy Burke Hair Color, Height & Weight, Ethnicity & Nationality 

Clancyʼs hair color is dark brown. Still, she changes her hair color from dark brown to blonde, brown, and other colors. Meanwhile, she has a blue pair of eyes.  Looking at her body measurements and body weight and height, her stats show that she stands five feet six inches tall. Her body weight is 56 kilograms. She has a slim & slender body type and loves hitting the gym and keeping fit.  Her ethnicity is White Caucasian. Meanwhile, she has American nationality. Her skin color is white. 

Clancyʼs mom, and his brother, Neal Burke. Photo credit: Instagram/@clancyburke.

What is Clancy Burkeʼs Salary? Net Worth 

Information about her exact salary estimate during her years as a Morning TV News Reporter at Local 12 is unknown. However, are we more than likely earning six figures monthly, or five figures? Well, that might be the case.  Meanwhile, her net worth is estimated to be anywhere around $600k and $1 million.  The thing about Clancy Burke is that she doesn't love to agree, in public, that she has money, so you'd often see her complaining about spending as little as $5 on a product.  Isn't it a good idea to keep your earnings to yourself? Well, our Clancy Bee does that very well, and we at Share-ask.com love her, regardless! News flash: You might want to follow up on the story of this Overly Sarcastic American Journalist, Kirk Minihane, to know more about his career journey in the field of Journalism and News Reporting.  That's it on Clancy Burkes biography and wiki. If this blog post was helpful to you in any form of way, do well to leave a rating. Also, you could drop your thoughts or questions in the comments, if you have any. Wiki Source: Share-Ask.com.  Read the full article

[back-and-totheleft]

The Camera is the Rifle

OS: I read your bio this morning. I see we did parallel each other to some degree. What year were you born?

DB: I was born in ’49. You’re a couple of years older than me. I dodged the draft. You enlisted, right? I remember sitting for the draft lottery, wondering if I would have to go to Canada or Nam?

OS: I don’t know. You’re one of those wimp-assed, fucking east coast people that didn’t want to go in the Army. I can’t understand you guys. I mean you saw the Vietnam War as a disaster. I didn’t at that time.

DB: Yes, Welcome, Oliver Stone, to Flashpoints. It’s good to have you with us.

OS: Nice to be back. I was on a couple of years ago.

DB: Yes, A couple of years after we’ve spoken, I believe we met at the late Robert Parry’s house, where you were given the Gary Webb Award. And we also were traveling the same ground there as well. It is good to have you back with us Oliver.

I found your autobiography both moving and compelling. So much about war and the aftermath. I remember one time when I got stung by a bee, I was about 11, and my father caught me going out the door with a can of Raid. And he says, “where you going?” And I said I got stung by a bee and I’m going to go kill a whole bunch of bees. And he said did I ever tell you the story about how a bee saved my life? And I said no. He says yeah. Well I was in the ditches and we were taking a break and this bee started dive-bombing my dad. I think it was Sicily, the Battle of Bloody Ridge. And he said “So I got out of the trench and I went behind a tree to grab a smoke, and as soon as I got out of my hole there, a mortar hit and killed 9 of my best friends.” Then my dad made us some tea and sweetened it with a nice dollop of fresh honey from a beekeeper who was a regular in my dad’s cab.

OS: That sounds horrible.

DB: Soldier Dad said to me, “if I ever run into General Patton in a drug store or the candy store, I will punch his ass out.”

I really want to start with what Martin Scorsese said to you in Films chool, that I think you found very moving and a life changer. And Scorsese said it in response to your first black and white, 16mm film. He said to you in response to your film, “The person who is making it is living it.” That was sort of your degree, wasn’t it? That was the real degree you got from college and your mantra all the way through.

OS: I’d say that was the highlight of my 2½ years at NYU. Martin – or Marty as we knew him then – was a very down-to-earth, but very smart and was very entertaining as a teacher. We were making films, very cheap films – black and white, 16mm, and editing them, writing them, starring in them, shooting them ourselves; it was mostly pretty amateur work. But this stood out to him, and usually we were into auto-critiquing like the Chinese cultural revolution. So usually you get a lot of criticism after you showed a film in class. It was a hard go-around. And he just shut it up right away. He said this is a film-maker, which I know was my diploma.

DB: Yes, really. And it was a film about war.

OS: It was about my returning to New York, yes.

DB: From the war.

OS: And my casting aside the medals, that’s right. It was about all the junk you wanted – the veteran has to lose the memories that he was carrying in order to move on with life.

DB: Now you made these three amazing films, of course Platoon was the first in a trilogy, and that was all about your experiences in Vietnam. And I found it very moving. Could you talk a little bit about – you talk about terminology like friendly fire. There are these terms that you learn in war. Talk a little bit about the language of war in the context of that Vietnam War.

OS: Well, I went in and I was a volunteer, and I was sent over as a replacement troop into a unit at the 25th Infantry, which had lost some men, and we were all replacements. And it was very factory-like in the sense that people didn’t want to get to know you too much, because we didn’t really – there was none of that wartime this-is-your-buddy stuff. We all were trying to stay alive, and everyone was counting off the days until they had left. It was like working for a taxicab company, which I had done also. So it was a routine, and it was a tough routine. And sometimes it would work out that you would bond with somebody, but not necessarily.

I was talking about the three lies, the three biggest lies I witnessed in Vietnam, and I gradually learned them over the time I was there. Because a lot of guys were getting hurt by friendly fire, which is our own artillery, our own planes and our own fire – rifle fire, ground fire. There was a lot more of that than people thought there was, because were in the jungle in asymmetrical warfare, and sometimes people – stupid people – would shoot without knowing where they were shooting because they were thinking. The problem with a lot of that war was that US troops when they get under fire, whether it’s in Afghanistan or Vietnam, they just open fire. They just fucking go crazy. It becomes like a mad minute, and that doesn’t work. You put out a lot of fire, and of course the idea is that you scare off or you stop the enemy from advancing. It’s ridiculous, and frankly kills a lot of people, as well as civilians; a lot of them were killed.

And that was the second thing I saw: a lot of civilian deaths. And when we say – we just don’t admit it. Because if you look at the casualty figures in Afghanistan, I’m sure you’re going to find a lot more than you know about US bombs killing Afghans. And I think that is one of the hidden facts of all wars; civilian deaths.

And the third I said about it was that the biggest lie of all was that we’re winning this war, which is what they told us all the time. It was we’re not losing; we’re winning; we’re kicking ass; look at the body counts. But then on the other hand, the more of them you killed – and of course they were inflated body counts because they included civilians – the more of them you killed, they always seemed to be replaced.

So who knows? It was Alice in Wonderland; the American strategy was nuts. Cleaning out villages and making them move to other villages that were supervised by corrupt, government troops; it was not a solution. And the people were caught between two different forces. Naturally a lot of us started to resent them because we thought they were helping the enemy. So this led to all kinds of problems. But the biggest problem of all was from the top down, the leadership; and it was military. It wasn’t political. The military people that are hardcore will always tell you it’s politics and ended the war. And they’ll say the same thing about Afghanistan. But it’s not; it was just a shit situation in terms of military situation. And if you don’t want me to say shit, I can say it was just a hopeless situation in terms of the military.

DB: Thank you. You remember Pacifica and the seven dirty words, so we’ve got to be careful about that. So I’m thinking, when I – and I really enjoyed your reading of the book – I’m thinking that war really ends up being at the core of everything you do; even outside this trilogy that it has that deep impact. And one has to realize that so many young men come back wounded and never recover, and this becomes sort of the core experience. We used to make fun – my brother and I used to make fun of my father when he would keep retelling us the same war stories. You know, we sort of had them numbered and labeled. And we’d go ha-ha, and laugh behind his back. But this is at the core.

OS: A lot of veterans don’t talk about it, and they carry it inside. And I’m not so sure that’s very healthy either. I think by making those three films I was able to exorcise quite a bit of things that were inside me. As you know, I jumped around on all three subjects. The second one was about another young man who came from a small town, not like me, and who came back to a small town paralyzed. Ron Kovic’s Born on the Fourth of July. So that’s a powerful story, I think, of pre-war/post-war, as well as war; there was quite a bit of action in that movie.

The third story was the Vietnamese peasant wives and their point of view. A woman who grew up in a village, and that’s a true story. She wrote a book, I optioned the book, Le Ly Hayslip. We called the film Heaven and Earth. And it’s, I feel, one of my best movies; but it’s kind of –

DB: Very powerful film.

OS: It came too early and it was about Asians. So I figured the American people were not interested in that side of the story.

DB: Well I live with one, and I get that perspective. Back to Ron Kovic; another place where our lives overlap. My mom – we grew up on the Lower East Side, but my mom took us out to a place called Massapequa. Have you heard of that town?

OS: Sure. Massapequa is where Ron was from. I was there.

DB: And when – I mean this was a big thing. My parents used to shop in the Bohack; I think that’s what the store was called.

OS: Oh yeah, Bohack. I remember Bohack.

DB: Where Ron Kovic grew up. And then I remember hearing Tom Paxton for the first time singing this song; I don’t know if you’ve ever heard it. Born on the Fourth of July. And it’s got – the refrain is “I was born on the fourth of July, no one more loyal than I. When my country said so, I was ready to go, I wish I had been left there to die.”

OS: Never heard it. I’ve never heard it.

DB: It’s powerful – you know, I was thinking when I was going to see the movie, your movie, I was thinking oh, that’s going to be the theme song. But then I thought to myself, no. Because he tells the whole story, the whole story is in the song; why do the movie? But the movie was a life-changer for me as well, and I’m sure for many young men who had survived that draft and that war.

OS: Yeah, although it’s not referred to, interestingly enough, as a war film, and it’s left off those lists; but I consider it a war film, very much so. Because it’s about what the boy was like before and what he was like after. And what the family situation is at home as well as abroad. So you know, I don’t know. Things get lost. I love Born on the Fourth of July; I think it’s one of my best films.

DB: I agree. And it’s sort of how the whole – one person in the family goes to war and the whole family goes to war. I’m remembering a film that came out of World War II; I think it was called The Best of Our Lives. Do you know that film? Was it The Best of Our Lives? Where he comes home and he –

OS: Oh, The Best Years of Our Lives, yes. That’s a classic from William Wyler, 1946. Frederick March. Three men came back from the war and each one had a different fate in his hometown.

DB: Yes, and I remember as a kid watching it.

OS: And it certainly was an inspiration for Born on the Fourth of July, certainly. I saw that film more than once. It’s a great film.

DB: And it really does show how you’re sending a whole family to war.

OS: It’s one of the most honest films I think Hollywood ever made. Because in that period, the American viewer was going very back towards the right wing, back towards the Republican era, and those films were no longer made after that. That film in fact almost got Wyler into the black lists; it came close. It’s an interesting story.

DB: Really. That is something. And again, it was powerful. I think in part it was in black and white, I believe.

OS: Yes.

DB: I guess that’s what they were using at that point. Or maybe somebody just chose to do it in black and white. But that also made it a very powerful film.

OS: Yeah.

DB: Could you talk a little bit about – I want to sort of backtrack a little bit and I want to talk a little bit about your family, your dad, your mom. Your dad was a Jewish businessman who worked on Wall Street – hence the film Wall Street – back to the person who is making it is living it. And your mom was sort of a – I don’t know. These days we’d say a party girl. But she was the entertainer. She was having parties; she was out there. Could you talk about you parents and how they influenced you?

OS: You called it an autobiography, but I’d call it more of a memoir; because it becomes subjective, highly subjective. And it’s about my relationship with the two parents. And because I was the only child, it was seen like a perfect family to me; a triangle that was working. And when it fell apart suddenly – and that was in 1962 when I was 15, 16, and I was at boarding school – and I was shocked to be told on the phone so coldly that the divorce – the marriage was over. I mean it was like a 180° turn. And I was not consulted or anything, because it was going on and there was a lot of tension between the two that I knew nothing about. Which was kind of a shock to me, and a coming-of-age kind of thing where you’re 15 and you say well, it’s a whole other world that I’m in now. The parents separate and it’s no longer “a family”; there is no family anymore. And especially if you’re an only child it’s just – you’re all on your own now, basically. And that’s what happened to me. I ended up in those years kind of being very disturbed, and eventually going – I went to Vietnam twice.

But my mom was, what did you say, a party girl? Yes. But in those days that was not wrong. It was a woman of a certain means – if she had means – would not work. It was acceptable. No longer, but my mother of course was very supportive of the family, and of my father. And she thought she was contributing with her grace and her charm and her party-giving to his career as a broker. And she did. So there is an alliance, a partnership between the parents.

My father was, as depicted in the book, also a very strong man, like my mother; both very strong people. And I wrestled with my father when I came back from Vietnam because he was supporting the war. And he was an Eisenhower Republican, and a smart one; not stupid at all. He wrote about it for a while, and he wrote a monthly letter. But he had a view of the world that was very Republican. It certainly influenced me and I was conservative. But it took me years to undo that; years to kind of see the real world the way it was devolving for me, not for him. He came out of The Depression; I can understand his feelings. And he was always very strongly anti-Roosevelt. So I had to learn my own – I had to figure it all out gradually as I was going along.

And so let’s say by my 30s – the book centers on the first 40 years. And when I was 30, I was very depressed. Nothing was working; my life was not working. And I wrote the book on the idea that I wanted to show younger people what it’s like growing up in that time period, and how because I had a dream about being a filmmaker, I achieved it finally. I achieved it against great odds; so many rejections of my material, including The Platoon. More than once it almost got made. But basically from my 1987, ’86, when I was 40 years old, I had broken through, and it was a tremendous overnight success. Platoon was amazing; it went around the world. Elizabeth Taylor was giving me an Academy Award; best picture, best director, it was a fairy tale. And you can’t end a book better than that. I mean you achieved the dream after so much rejection and pain that it means something so much more to you and it was very sweet.

So maybe the story should end there at the age of 40. But it doesn’t; there’s another story in this, it goes on. I have to write still; it’s another book I want to do.

DB: Another book. And what is it about film that you chose as your main medium for?

OS: Well because I had written a book before I left. I had written a novel when I was 19 years old, and it was very – partly out of that pain and that loneliness; the divorce and the isolation. The sense of separation from a family; a lot of pain. It came into this book, an autobiographical novel. Which was pretty amazing. It was published years later as A Child’s Night Dream in 1997 by St. Martin’s Press. Which was an interesting book; a lot of craziness in it. Written by a 19-year-old really; it’s a 19-year old’s book. And I look back on it fondly. But it shows me – in other words, I was a writer. But when I came back from the Vietnam War, I no longer was satisfied with being a novelist. What I had seen was so visceral over there, and so in-your-face; six inches in front of your face. Your eyes, what you see and hear and smell. You have to become a 360°, full-contact person. And that’s not really what a novelist does. A novelist is very much in his head. You cannot be in your head in the field. You have to be alert and you can’t be thinking these things. So you kind of achieve another kind of viscerality, which I can’t explain quite until you pick up a camera and you can relive it. The camera gives you that viscerality, that sense of being the rifle. The camera is the rifle; it shoots. And it shoots what you want it to shoot.

So I basically came back from the war as an infantry soldier, as a filmmaker; wanting to be a filmmaker, a wanna-be. And that’s where I learned how to make them at NYU gradually. It took me a few years to get to the place where I could have some success. My first success was at 30 with The Midnight Express. No, I’m sorry – yes. No, it was at 32 with Midnight Express, 33; after that 30. At 30 years old it looked –

DB: Yeah, that was in – you made that – and that actually won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

OS: Yes, it did. After that I was in the business; I was accepted in the business, and it was up and down. The business has a thousand pitfalls, and I certainly go into some of them. And I think it’s very illuminating for younger people who want to pursue the arts to see this story and feel it.

DB: And pursue you did, courageously. You know the book; we’re talking about Chasing the Light; Writing, Directing and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express. Scarface Salvador and the Movie Game. And it opens up with you completing your first film, which is Salvador. You’re making it in Mexico. And I really want to ask you how you had the courage; how you could go forward in the face of having to deal with and juggle. Not only are you worrying about doing the film, but you’re worrying about having the whole thing pulled out from under you if you go over budget.

OS: Listen, Salvador was –

DB: How do you do that?

OS: How do you do it? You do it by learning. And learning – in Vietnam there was an expression: on the job, or learning on the job training; on the job training. You just do it. And that’s what happened. It was one of the worst nightmares you could ever have as a filmmaker. I could never survive it now. I was – I didn’t know better. But there was just no money; it was a dream from the beginning. I pushed that dream. I wanted to make the film. It was about war in Central America. And I went down there with a crazy journalist who was a friend of mine who lived through some of these experiences, and I based the film on his story. But we were so – between our desire and our execution there was quite a bit of a problem, so it took – it was an insane story. You have to read it to understand it. And an English company bailed us out. It was an English producer named John Daley who was taking chances in the 1980s, ’85, and he made both films. He made Platoon and Salvador. So without him it would not have made it. No American company would touch Salvador or Platoon. No American company would finance it, do you understand? That’s what’s really depressing. And it’s still going on.

DB: Why do you think that is?

OS: Well because they want to make money, and they thought that Stallone was the answer with his bullshit Rambo films. And Chuck Norris, the other guy who’s another right-winger, was perfect for the American people. It was what they wanted to hear, but it was not true. It was called Missing in Action and Chuck Norris made about three or four films about it, which was – that was the vogue. That was the vogue. And by the time I came along I thought it was over. I put Platoon in the closet and I said forget it; they’ll never make it. It was almost made, but it never got made. And then I gave up, and out of the blue three or four years later John Daley committed to it and he came through. He came through on both films, and both films became hit successes for me. Huge hits; I mean certainly Platoon.

DB: Wow. And why did you make that film? Why El Salvador?

OS: Well because it was a great story. It was a great story about war. Central American war is a dirty, dirty, dirty story about America. The same kind of mindset that created Vietnam was involved in 1980. Salvador, in Honduras, in Guatemala and in Nicaragua. Remember the Nicaraguans were having a revolution, the Sandinista Revolution. And the American government took a strong stance against it because they thought it was Communistic. Actually it was about land reform and making the lot of the poor in that country, or the people, most of the people, making it a better situation for them. But that’s not the way the American people saw it. So we supported dictators in those regions ever since; we always have. We want stability over any kind of uncertainty.

DB: You know the thing is it’s impossible to get that information out, in terms of the relationship that the US government has with for instance the death squads in El Salvador.

OS: It’s come out, but no one wants to listen. Yeah, we always support the death squads. And in Vietnam certainly there were death squads. Americans fought another war; it was a covert and a dirty war where we killed people. Peasants that were seen as progressive. And the same thing went on in Afghanistan. I mean you have no idea. There’s this other – one sector is the military and then the other sector is what now becomes the contractor at war. Which is to say you have a contract and you go out and you do your dirty work for the government; and you kill a lot of people who are seen as oppositional.

I was joking with somebody the other day. I said yeah; the Americans should let all the Afghanis in who worked with them. That means all the bad guys too. The Americans have this picture of the people who worked with them as all these good guys. Some of them were. But a lot of them were bad-ass people who were getting – who were doing a lot of killing and a lot of spying, killing. In other words, war is ugly. And we used everything we could to win that war. We used torture; we used all these sci-op techniques. It was very important for us to win the hearts and minds of the peasantry, which we never did; either in Vietnam or in Afghanistan.

DB: You say that it’s reported in the US, but not really. I don’t think in the United States your everyday, average citizen knew, for instance in El Salvador, that there was a guy named Roberto D’Aubuisson who once turned – told a German photographer that you Germans did the right thing; you killed all the Jews. Or drawing straws to shoot the archbishop through the voice during the eucharist. I don’t think –

OS: Plus there’s a whole dark side of the American story. I mean it’s true in every country in South America since we’ve had dictators everywhere. And wars; Argentina there were death squads all over the place, and in Brazil earlier than that in the ‘60s, and in of course Chile in ’71, or ’73 rather.

DB: ’73, right. September 11th; 9/11. When I saw the twin towers going down, I thought the Chileans are taking revenge. It’s September 11th, and the United States with the CIA overthrew the duly elected government of Allende.

OS: And not only that, we cooperated with the new government in picking out – I mean lists of people to be examined an often thrown out of helicopters or tortured. In other words as we did in Indonesia. Everywhere we go, we do this. There’s no fun to have in this story at all.

DB: Right. And I think that’s part of the gift of your work, Oliver Stone, that you put in film what we can’t, what we journalists can’t seem to get people to understand in terms of where your tax dollars are going. I’m just reading that I think they’re upping the defense budget big time. Meanwhile they’re hassling over whether they want to have a budget that’s going to support human life and people having a place to live and hospitals.

OS: Yeah, I know. And we have to bring all the people that we owe; our collaborators in those countries. They’ve been kicked out; they can’t work there; they’ll be killed. So they come and move to the United States. I suggest that they move to Miami and join the other; all the people that work with the Cuban exiles. Some of them are murderers and torturers, and they blow up anything. They’ve done it so many times. They go back into South America and they help the Chileans and they help the Argentinians with their dirty wars. In other words, we have a whole mini population of murderers and torturers in our country who were given sanctuary here.

Oh by the way, you have to include the South Vietnamese who did it over there, and they are moved into Orange County and here in Los Angeles. So we have communities of that.

DB: And then the history is rewritten. I mean we love the fact that –

OS: They become the victims. They become the people who got screwed, so to speak.

DB: There was a Vietnamese writer from South Vietnam, who wrote this – sort or rewrote history. It was about worshiping the ladder that was allowing the last Vietnamese to escape the Communists in the last helicopter.

OS: Propaganda.

DB: Propaganda; a lot of propaganda. You do say in this memoir that it’s really about – where is it that I wanted to quote? It’s about sort of living for the dream. You say this is a story about making a dream at all costs. How do you – what is it that allows you to sustain that dream? So many people give up pretty early in the game. What really matters?

OS: You know, I think tenacity is as much a part of success as anything. Anger certainly was there; it’s been steady. Anger at what we do in these situations and how we lie about it. It remains. It’s not the only focus of my life, of course. I have managed to balance my life out with happiness too. But certainly there’s a lot of residual anger there about what we’ve done and are still doing. What the hell are we doing with this budget, with our budget? I mean our support of this military empire that we’ve created is beyond belief; beyond belief. After all the screwups we’ve seen, and we’ve seen it time and again from Vietnam to Iraq, one and two basically. And then of course Afghanistan and Syria; we had no business doing what we did. So it’s just a whole ideological warfare that we do, but there’s no point to it. It doesn’t do the world any good. It just creates bodies and destruction. We bring destruction and we call it peace.

DB: You have had some pretty strong critiques of your work. You’ve been successful, but a lot of people get very angry; for instance around JFK. Is it because the truth hurts?

OS: Oh, I guess it does. They don’t want to admit it. You’re asking me an obvious question. Why would they get angry? There’s a long list of people who’d like to see me, among others, see me dead.

DB: Right. And when you raised the issue about JFK; I mean you did the film, and I understand you’re still working on the story of JFK.

OS: The story never went away, because it was never solved. We just made – I made a documentary called JFK Revisited. It’s going to be released in November of this year in the United States. We showed it at Cannes very successfully; we sold 10-12 countries and it’s coming out here in November. So the case has never ended; they never solved it. The investigations kept coming. Our film created a third investigation called The Assassination Records Review Board, and they interviewed a lot of people who were still alive back in ’94 and ’98. And they wrote up these things that were said and done, and a lot of people had provisionist stories to tell. And of course it was ignored for the most part. It was really ignored by the media. Americans love to say well, we’re going to make an investigation, another investigation. But then they never follow up because it’s tedious over four years to follow all the little details. Well we did. The people in this JFK research community did follow it, and there’s a lot there. There were – 60,000 documents were declassified, and almost two million pages.

On the other hand, Trump backed down at the last second and he was swamped with CIA objections; and he put a lid on it and he changed the law. He basically did it illegally; not with the authorization of Congress. And now the law is – they’re not respecting the law. We still have these 20,000 documents that are still classified. And there’s a lot there. There may not be, but you have to get into the CIA people. The CIA has been most obstructive to the investigation. They don’t release the files on some of these key agents that appear around the edges of the story, like David Atlee Phillips, George Joannides in Miami, or William Harvey who was around the Cuba operation. There’s a lot there, but who knows what’s in there?

But the point is we accepted the Warren Commission, which was a joke. We go back in the film and show the basic evidence: the bullet, the rifle, the fingerprints, everything that matters in a murder trial. And we show it to be completely phony. There’s not one piece of evidence that really holds up against the so-called Oswald killer routine. It’s disgusting.

DB: What do you think? You’ve spent so much time; what are some of the basics that people should know, that should be taught in the history books; in the alternative history books?

OS: I’ve written about it, and the documentary is made. I don’t think in the time we have, Dennis – I’ve been on almost an hour and I do have other things I have to do today. I don’t think there’s time to go into it all. It’s about Oswald, it’s about the evidence, it’s about the Warrant Commission itself and how crooked it was. All this has come out in declassifications. We have to cover a lot of bases, and there’s no one headline.

Also, the big question is why, why, why was Kennedy killed? I keep re-emphasizing that. And I can tell you that our history books are still screwed up. I mean if you were to believe them, Mr. Johnson, Lyndon Johnson, succeeded Kennedy smoothly and continued his policies in Vietnam. This is rubbish; complete rubbish. We have proof now through declassification that Kennedy was absolutely withdrawing from Vietnam, win or lose. And they said that’s what he told McNamara; McNamara said it in his book. He was Secretary of Defense. William – McGeorge Bundy, who was pro-Vietnam war, also says it very clearly in his book. These things are written years after. People don’t pay attention. The historians still go on with that nonsense about Lyndon Johnson was a successor. But he changed everything in the foreign policy of Kennedy. Everything from Vietnam to Cuba to – Kennedy was working on another détente with the Soviet Union and Johnson never did anything towards détente. He moved the other direction, encouraged dictatorships and overthrew a government in Brazil, and all over the world, in Greece in 1967. You see a complete repudiation of the Kennedy doctrine. Kennedy had the Alliance for Progress in South America; out the window with Johnson. In Africa, Kennedy was making huge strides to make allies with a whole new generation of Africans; all out the window. In Asia of course, Kennedy was working with Indonesia; he liked Sukarno. With Johnson they get rid of Sukarno and there’s the bloodiest coup d’états of all time; a million people are killed because they were so-called Communists. But those are lists of course put together by the American CIA, and it’s just murder. That’s what it was, just outright murder. Anything the – stuff the Nazis did; just killing people and getting away with it. The world has gotten very violent and ugly, and we’ve played a huge role in bringing that about.

And of course, Dennis, you’re an hour in now. I do have to get out of here.

DB: All right, sure. All right. Well, I want to thank you for joining us. Can I just ask you, are there any more feature films coming up? Is there – are you in a different place now?

OS: Yeah, I’m in a different place. I’ve made a nuclear energy documentary, which is very, very fact-based and I think will be very interesting and possibly move some marbles around here. Because we need to get going and get clean energy. We’ve got to get the CO2 out of the fucking system; out of the system. And it’s going to take a lot of work. People are dreaming when they think about if windmills and sun are going to do the whole job, they’re not. Certainly they’re good, but they need a lot of help. And we’re not going to make it unless we use nuclear energy, and a lot of it. A lot of it. So there has to be a change in thinking.

But it’s not just us; it’s the whole world that we have to change. The whole world.

-Dennis Bernstein, "The Camera is the Rifle: an Interview With Oliver Stone," Flashpoints, CounterPunch, Sept 24 2021 [x]

[ducknotinarow]

XD Shes my daughter it seems now at first just a thought shared with kezzie but i'm attached so here she is. Summer is a TMNT 03/07 oc daughter to Casey (kezzies muse) and Raphael (my muse) Breif info on top what is gonna be her bio on my muse page which been update to add her. Below the cut is rambling head-cannons and me breaking down her design.

Summer 'Hamato' - Jones. A spark of Sunshine

Verses: tmnt 07

Ages: Toddler 3-4/ Kid 6-8/teen 12-14

Adopted by Casey and Raphael as a babe, she was raised by the two hot heads. Living a sort of double life since she has to keep the mutant half of her family a secret, but gets to experience a human life. Much like her dads she got a hot temper and quick to grow mad, shes spirited and full of energy. Loves and adores her dad's and is very aware she has them wrapped around her pinky only some times takes advantage of it. Shes pretty mischievous and trouble just finds her, she can be pretty compassionate having learned from her dad's. That said shes not scared to land a punch or take one.

Adopted daughter to Casey and Raphael, having been left at Casey's door one night by her mother.

said mother was planing to leave the man she was with but wouldn't be able to take care of the kid on her own and staying with him was not an option. Or Summer likely would have grown up similar to how Casey had. So without knowing it (unless casey somehow met her mom) Casey saved a kid from growing up how he had.

Casey and Raph were both quick to take to the idea of keeping her as their own having been infected with baby fever already when their Niece Ariel was born. It was as if fate brought her to them, she even shared blue eyes with Casey.

She got her name for the fact it was cold outside but the moment she was brought into Casey's apartment it brought warmth between Raph and Casey like the summer sun warms up all the cold from the night.

Legally her Name is Summer Jones (imma tag her as Summer Jones mostly to make her stand out) So on record it just seems like Casey is a single father.

Around the block and school it is known she has two dad's but only Casey is ever mostly seen. Outside the winter/hockey games when Raph can bundle up to make appearances here and there. Since he's able to keep hidden.

Summer pretty much always talking about her dad's and spend a lot of time around them. As doting a kid as her dad's are with her. Far as Summer cares to know her Dad's are the best and greatest people to exist. Sometimes she slips and says something weird about Raph that she has to cover up cause yeah cant be spilling he's a turtle. When younger it was over looked cause eh kids say weird stuff.

Casey is Dada when small but later starts to call him just Dad. Raphael was papa when small but later she starts to call him pops. It's how she make clear who she's talking about if both its just dad's. Father would only be said if she was mad at either of them.

She's a big fan of Hockey having been watching since she was just a tiny bundle of blankets. Even learns to play from Casey. Of course she is a New York Rangers fan as well. She lives and breaths it just as much as Casey dose.

Likes to hang around the garage Casey work at (least its shown he works at one in both 03 and 07 time to time) so she has learned some things there too. Not afraid to get dirty.

She played fight with Raphael a lot as a toddle mostly the fake kind where Raph pretended she beat him but he did start teaching her how to hit and such as kid. hey Splinter taught him and his brothers young too.

she may have gotten into some scraps at day care. Raph was happy she won uwu I bet Casey was too uwu

Summer also learned to play guitar from Casey and Raphael, it's her favorite because of listening them play for her to help her clam down when she got fussy. Sometimes she sit in thier laps well they played and she pass out.

I feel she'll pick up on the bass later herself becoming her hobby often learning to play with her dad's it kind of becomes her own passion as she grows up. even learning to write music herself.

Has been going out in the city at night since she was adopted cause well Raph is only able to freely move than for one and it's something special for her dads so of course they have to take her along too. Slightly implies she may have seen her dad fight as a baby as well.

Chances are sometimes this got risky and Summer got tangle in some mix ups her Dads had to save her from. Chances are she is a bit of at risk when older too considering the Purple Dragons and Casey and the Foot is still around as well.

"shouldn't you be concerned about the absolute delight your daughter takes in violence?"

Very much has a bad temper like Casey and Raph but unlike them she dose know how to communicate her thoughts it just all comes out in her anger and tears. Casey and Raph giving her a home where she feels she can be open about her emotions after all.

Splinter: that's grandpa and she listens and behaves for him. Also her first ninja teacher in a sense Summer just having fun learning to be like her pops. She loves how soft and warm he is to hug used to tug on his whiskers and make squeaky noises when wanting to see grandpa not that he squeaks like a rat she just knows hes a rat uwu. Has a liking for rats cause of him be careful she might try to make one a pet uwu

Despite that she's very conpastae and comforting because when ever she got upset her dad's were gentle with her. So often she calms her dad's down.

Family

Leo: Borrowing from fast forward I feel he becomes her proper teacher when in her teens. Luckily he grew up with Raph so handling her temper and raw fighting is easy to work with in training. She often spends time around Leo when at the lair because well he's her sensei so getting his advice on things helps. The only one of her uncles she dosent call uncle instead calling him sensei. Having more a teacher student relationship with Leo. Kind of the only one who can talk her down.

Don: If neither dad was around Don is who she runs to for comfort. As a baby she had a habit of pulling the turtles masks down so when she saw Don had green in his like her dad it help her clam down when getting fussy. I feel he has the joy of being like a torturer to Summer mostly science he just explains it better than her teachers. Also lokes playing and sharing video games with him. Chances are he often patches her up. (Purple bandaid uwu)

Mikey: He's sort of a teacher as well (borrowing from the last ronin seeing how he did say he teach Casey and Aprils kind in that story) but mostly Mikey is just like a big brother. Got her into comics and taught her how to skate board. Never fails at cheering her up. Much loke Airel he kidnapped Summer as well he just had both casey and raph to deal with when he did xD

Ariel : They are cousins but they are far more like sisters even seen as the twins of the next generation. Summer tells Ariel everything and anything. They don't have serects between them. Least Summer doesn't. She picked up on raph habit and often will sit back to back with Ariel when they talk. Shell do anything for her cousin even aid her with finding out who Bishop is against even her pop's warning.

School/ human like

Summer may be well loved and cared for at home and the lair but at school? Summer is seen as a freak. Shes obsessed with turtles and rats. She is loud and rambunctious not lady like, dosen't mind getting dirty and a puck head. Shes often bullied and mocked for her interests "turtle girl" being her more known name over her actual one. She's pretty much an outcast. She never tells her dad's about this till one day a boy forced her to eat turtle soup and well she punched him in the mouth and knock some teeth out.

I like to think after telling her dad's she been getting bullied she gets transferred to a different school a fresh start she still don't have a lot of friends but she dose join the schools hockey team as the first and only girl even becoming captain. Even makes a garage band with some of her teammates.

Daddys girl through and through I mean she only has dad's but still

She's still seen as a werido and such buuuut now shes known to kick anyone ass due to school rumors. And well they have seen her get into fights on the ice uwu

Dad's

Casey calls her the most silly nicknames and is a fully goofy loving dad he embarrasses her but she likes it so she'll allow it

Raphael the one who did her hair, mostly to lower the risk of her getting grabbed by it, he still dose her hair as a teen before she heads off to the school. She won't let anyone else touch it, for doing her updo's.

Okay that was alot XD sorry Desing break down

In terms of style Summer goes for vintage looks meaning Casey and to some extent Raph get robbed of clothing. Hey Raph barely needs it anyway uwu

- Jacket: Is actually something I saw in a tv show. Worn by the younger sister to a brother charater who is a big sports guy funny enough it is a New York Rangers jacket in the show too and belongs to the brother. When I noticed the patch (on the left shoulder) was that teams logo I decided Summer should have it and considering this show takes place roughly when Casey would been growing up it makes sense for it to been Casey's.

- Patches: are from each of her uncles

Leo: A yin and Yang symbol because its what he hangs on a Christmas tree and sees fitting with his need for balance and how serious he is with the laws of bisheudo

Don: A beaker of chems cause Donnie helps her mostly with science projects

Mike: Skate board Mikey's favorite thing todo and kind of shows they kind of things he teachers her far more for fun

Splinter: Family clan symbol okay so they never used this in the 03 show but Splinter dose use the last name Hamato so Im saying they do use the clan symbol.

- Arm band: Is one of Raphael's old masks, she has help patch her pops up before and his mask got ruined one of those times so she ended up keeping it and ties it to her jacket.

- Ranger shirt: As said she lives and breaths hockey like her Dad Casey, so of course she is always seen wearing team appeal

-banages: Between sports, fighting, trianing, and just being Summer shes often got bandages on herself she a tough girl what can I saw.

-Hair: She already shares blue eyes with Casey but she wished she had a trait for Raph so as she gets older she starts getting red Streaks in her hair to sort of go with his mask

-Accessories: Summer has a couple priceings in her ears he most worn are the hoops. Which are hot Pink her personal favorite color. She also wears to hair clips a hockey stick and a turtle. She always needs reminders of her dad's uwu

[its-a-human-person]

you know what time it is? character time! tell me about characters

i assume ur talkin about my own characters and in that case

oh boy do i have a rant for you

idk how keep readings really work but hopefully this does something because there is way too many words below the keep reading

AHHAHHAHAH my boy Mitch (he/him, 19) needs therapy (but so does pretty much every one of these characters); he has a baseball bat named Facebreaker and a boyfriend named Victor/Kain (they/she/fae/he, 20) and a boyfriend named Ennard (they/them, 21) and Ennard is the only one who actually has a car out of those three, but Mitch and some other friends share a car as well

and Mitch is in a ~band~ called ~the Pentagrams~ (they share the car) bc of course he is wow so original; it's with his friends Ginger (she/they), Tani (she/he), York (he/him), and Nel (it/they) and all of them either need therapy or doctor's appts or a shower or a break or some combination of those

York eats glitter sometimes and Ginger is a musical prodigy and Tani likes waffles and loves telling puns until Ginger shakes her head disapprovingly and Tani hates mushrooms and Nel needs a hug but also has its friends for said hugs so that's good

also Ginger and Tani are dating so that's fun

the five of them (Mitch, Tani, York, Ginger, & Nel) live in an apartment together bc of course they do also bc minimum wage and bc it makes funny situations that i can turn into ~entertainment~

so obv the Pentagrams are a found family bc of course they are, so about Mitch's bio family! he gots a mom, a dad, and a brother (his parents are divorced and he only really stays in contact with his brother bc he doesnt really like or respect either of his parents): his mom, Kiara (she/her, 47) is an inventor and engineer and possibly a lil off her rocker and definitely needs therapy bc ~backstory and stuff~; his dad, Jordan (he/him, 49) is a asshole and businessman and very much dickhead bc ~backstory and stuff~; his brother, Sammie (he/they, 16) is sweet and sarcastic and pretends not to care in front of some people but cares so so much and is essentially the only person Kiara has left bc (say it with me) ~backstory and stuff~ so fun!

SAMMIE MY BOY is a femboy and frickin slays and cares so so much about Mitch & Kiara and his friends and ahghhghgh and hes just tryna get Mitch's approval while also being forced to grow up too fast

ahghhghg basically all of my characters either had to grow up too fast, were sheltered from growing up too fast by someone who had to grow up too fast, or refused to grow up

back to the Pentagrams bc i have to rant briefly more about them now: Nel sometimes goes nonverbal and yeah it is my child but uh idk if its autistic but it probably is (this assessment is coming from a self-diagnosed autistic)

SPEAKING OF AUTISTIC CHARACTERS MORE ABOUT KIARA: she cannot people. like she tries to but uh it does not work. when she tries to interact with people she always ends up accidentally doing things she shouldnt be doing or saying the wrong things or misinterpreting things or overthinking things and stuff and yea. this woman does not and probably never will understand people. she's been called selfish and rude and oblivious and stupid because of all this cuz she was never like officially diagnosed with autism but she probly has it. also also she probly has ocd bc everything in her lab's gotta be a certain way, and if it isn't, she has a breakdown till she can fix it, so nobody was allowed in her lab for literal decades until ~the accident~

there is so so much more i could rant about so if u want more on specific characters/characters' backstories i could absolutely go in depth :))